SQL 2008 R2 Cluster Setup: Easy? Not So Much.
The SQL Server 2008 R2 setup program crashes sometimes leaving you with a "half installed" instance: this is about how I repaired the setup on a populated cluster.
Thinking Time
Do you get time to stop and think, without being pressured to solve a specific problem? Steve Jones notes that it's important to get that creative time to grow and produce better work.
7 Preventable Backup Errors
The loss of a company's data is often enough to put the company out of business; and yet backup errors are generally avoidable with the application of common sense rather than deep technical knowledge. Grant digs into memories of his long experience of giving forum advice, to come up with the most easily preventable backup errors.
Little Love Lost for SMO
SMO is a very useful way of automating a wide range of routine database jobs, but Phil Factor laments Microsoft's apparent ambivalence towards the technology, including a lack of anything remotely resembling adequate documentation.
Stress – It’s Not Fair
Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Warren that looks at stress and how it impacts your job. He offers a few ways that you might better deal with it as well.
TSQL Challenge 70 - Find the longest sequence of alphabets in a string
This challenge invites you to identify the longest sequence of alphabets from a string.
Data Mining Model Training Destination in SQL Server Integration Services
How to incorporate data mining directly into the Data Flow of SQL Server 2008 R2 Integration Services-based packages.
A VB.NET toolkit for writing SSIS Script Tasks
This article demonstrates basic VB.NET code that will enable SSIS package developers to write useful custom SSIS script tasks.
Snack Attack
This editorial was originally published on Jan 11, 2007 and is being re-run as Steve is on vacation. A fun poll today asking what you like to eat at work.
SQL Server stored procedure to generate random passwords
SQL Server is used to support many applications and one such feature of most applications is the storage of passwords. Sometimes there is a need to reset a password using a temporary password or generate a random password for a new user. In this tip I cover a simple stored procedure to generate random passwords that can be incorporated into your applications.
Blogs
A Career of Memories
By Steve Jones
Annabel retired from Redgate Software this week. Across most of my career at Redgate,...
Rethinking Index Maintenance: Why avg_fragmentation_in_percent Is Outdated and What You Should Do Instead
By Tim Radney
As a SQL Server DBA with years of experience tuning production environments, I’ve seen...
Microsoft Build 2026 announcements
By James Serra
Once again there were a number of Microsoft Build announcements related to data and...
Forums
Changes, Happiness, and a Few Tears
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Changes, Happiness, and a Few...
BCP on Linux
Comments posted to this topic are about the item BCP on Linux
You Probably Don't Need a Vector Database
Comments posted to this topic are about the item You Probably Don't Need a...
Question of the Day
BCP on Linux
When running bcp on Linux, what is the field terminator?
See possible answers